Change Within Reach
by Supfan
Summary: She had expectations for her "change", but raging sexual hormones had not been a part of the plan. Daryl is quite understanding. Rated M for a wicked smut-factor. Enjoy;)


**(A/N: Warning: Full smut-sail ahead. Haven't written in a bit, but I had the urge;) I also don't know much in the way of menopause, so I kind of smudged the details. I apologize if any of the facts are wrong, but I wrote it in fun to show the sexy bond between our two favorite not-quite-lovers haha. Had fun on this one. Can't wait for this evening's episode. FYI, this is set a ways back during the prison days.) **

There was only so much of the tension she could take. Daryl was out on runs five out of seven days out of the week. Often it was him and Michonne, sometimes he was alone. Either way, when he rolled through those gates, arms flexing as he exercised the pull of that throttle...Carol had to step inside the dark confines of the prison for some cool relief. The heat was too much, her body always pulsing and throbbing. She wasn't naive, she knew it was her body's time for 'the change'. Her mother had gone through it early too, no shame. The hot flashes, the sweats, the dizzy spells...she'd researched all that in the prison's library, ready for whatever came her way. What she hadn't read about were the rampant sex-driven hormonal urges.

When he was at the compound, they spent all their time together. He followed her around during her most meaningless of chores while she filled him in on all the happenings around their abode. They talked little of what happened on his journeys out, of the dead-ends and cold-trails.

"I saw Mrs. Cochren moving a box of her things?" he asked helping tighten the lid of a few jugs.

She nodded and stifled the giggle, "in with Mr. Parsons...we all heard them reconciling their relationship the last few nights. She's slowly been moving her things back into his cell."

He nodded, laughing lightly at the bickering old couple. "Good to know it don't all go when you get older," he said nudging her shoulder. The brief contact made her flush, which launched her body into a full-blow swoon. She leaned against a banister for support as the air tangoed out of her system. "Whoa, there. Ya alright?"

Carol blanched at the irony of her episode, so timely in it's appearance. "Yeah, just one of those perks to getting older." She leaned her forehead against the support beam, taking slow breathes. She heard the splatter of the pump, water pouring on the asphalt. She wished it would run down her back and soothe some of these waves undulating within her. She jolted as a cool, soaked cloth coiled around her neck. The droplets of water moistened her shirt and quelled some of the fire. A rough hand massaged the cold cloth into her skin, going for maximum coverage.

There was no holding back the moan that burst forth at the instant relief coursing through her. Daryl's hand stilled, slowly withdrawing. Carol spun to apologize for the the noise and whatever implication had pushed him away, but before she could speak she saw him pouring water over his bandana, soaking it with a fresh, chilled water. When he caught her eye and smirked, whatever relief she'd felt was staunched. He had been cooling her with his own bandana. The liquid fire in her veins coiled in the pit of her stomach drilling down to her core. He reached forward, hand outstretched and placed the cloth against her neck again, this time swiping from the back of her neck to her front...where he stood entirely too close, his hand hovering at the base of her neck. Her breathing became unsteady, matching Daryl's own erratically paced pants.

"Daryl..." she whispered, eyes fluttering. His other hand came to rest on her hip, but beyond that he had frozen. The gentle caress of his hands on her like this, Carol didn't need to over-think the decision. She reached up and guided the bandana, and subsequently Daryl's fingers, farther down into the crevice of her breasts and under her bra. His fingers squirmed at the contact of her fleshy mounds, through the thin layer of bandana. The rough bud of her nipple hardened. Like he'd gotten the official green-light, his lips closed the distance and the proverbial sparks flew. _No...fuck sparks, this is Pompeii. _She thought as he pressed his body flush to hers.Thankful for the lack of a crowd, Carol was ready to pull down her pants and take him on the picnic table, but thankfully Daryl still had his wits about him.

His assault on her mouth came to a slow dance. The hand on her hip pulled, guiding her towards the front of the cell-block. "Inside. Now," he ordered, a husk to his voice that held promises Carol was looking forward to. His finger danced on the skin of her hip, drawing patterns. She imaged those patterns drawn on more intimate areas. Hell, she'd imagined it time and time again, his fingers, tongue. But the real thing was _so_ much better.

Just as they rounded on the entrance, the swinging doors burst open... a laughing Glenn and Carl emerging from the building. Like the same side of two magnets, the groping couple split. The laughter from the boys immediately drifted into a set of awkward chuckles. "Hey, Hershel sent us to see if you guys needed some help," Glenn said, eyes wary. His eyes flicked back and forth between the pair, sizing up the situation.

"Yeah, Carol just bumped her head while we was getting fillin' the jugs...I was gonna get her inside to rest. Ya'll can finish up here," Daryl inserted smoothly, his intentions clear to Carol. This was happening.

"Hershel was asking for you anyway, I'll take you to him and get your head checked out," Carl offered sweetly, approaching with his arm out. Daryl nearly snarled his reaction, but kept his mouth firmly locked in place, a glare edging it's way to the very perceptive Korean.

"She's safe with Daryl. You and I will finish these up," Glenn said grabbing the teen and pulling him away. Daryl gave him a silent nod, making a mental note to grab some booze for him on next run as a thank you. Dragging her to the boiler room and wrapping a chain around the door to ensure privacy, Daryl's lips followed the earlier trail from his bandana. The area was still cool with moisture, but Daryl's tongue changed that. If the lava between her legs was any indication, foreplay wasn't necessary. He read her mind once more, his hand dipping straight into her cargo pants, middle finger diving directly into her slit so his hand was cupping her mound. Carol let out a low moan as the expanse of his finger slid down her clit. Deftly rolling the digit, there was no awkward fumbling or testing of pace. He set into an easy rhythm that had Carol singing his praises loudly. Covering her mouth with a combination of his lips and fingers, he silenced her screams and pumped two fingers through her peak.

If she'd had the time, she might have blushed at the short time lapse between the initial movement of his fingers and her orgasm, but Daryl didn't miss a beat. He coaxed her down from the high of the release, lightly tweaking his finger and pulling down her pants and undergarments simultaneously. She grasped for him, finding his stone member and drooling at it's girth. "Finally," she groaned as he lifted her onto the maintenance desk. He threw a smirk her way, perching between her legs and driving home, their eyes locking in a way that she didn't think possible. Carol felt every moment since his first steely glare had been leading up to this. This connection, physical and otherwise, was exactly what she needed to be whole. The entire exchange could have been minutes or hours, her ass perched on the desk with Daryl impaling her in a way she'd only ever seen in trashy romance novels. Oh, the things she would do to him when they had the time. Carol, slick with the moisture of her last release, was ready to burst once again, tumbling into her orgasm with a surprising force.

She rode hormonal waves, blissful in her euphoria and the continued connection of her and her best friend. Grasping the back of his hair and tugging his head back, she put her lips to his earlobe. "You can cum inside me..." she whispered lightly. The words were his undoing, so unnaturally filthy from Carol's mouth. He groaned a loud release as the roll of his hips steadied within her.

"Well, shit," Daryl said. Their chests bumped lightly as they laughed without breath to fill their lungs.

"That about sums it up," she responded, patting a whiskered-cheek. She tried not to focus on their continued connection, pulling back slightly. "We should get back." There was a chord ringing through Carol, fight or flight. Though considered in her dirtiest of desires, the boiling blood in her system had driven her legs around his waist. And she cursed herself for already wanting to do it again. But with the fire temporarily quelled, the clarity kept her moving forward. Metaphorically and literally retreating, she lets her doubts seep in.

Daryl considered her exit line for a moment, rolling the thought around in his head as his fingers nimbly worked the buttons up her top, leaving the top couple open exposing the light swell of her chest. "Keep these open. If you need coolin' down again, I don't wanna have to rip 'em."

Anticipating those concerns once again, her quirks and idiosyncrasies in his back pocket, she couldn't help but lean forward and rest her lips lightly against his for the briefest of moments. Though they'd just embraced in the most amazing sexual experience of either of their lives, this simple act of affection surprised him, his eyes round as she pulled away. "Those flashes happen pretty often. Try not to run off too far." Her underlying meaning was laced in the way she gripped his arm and pulled away towards the door. Daryl's eyes traced the sway of her hips, thumb between his teeth...her scent still lingering on his hands. He decided to tell Michonne he was done going on those goose chases for the past. Time to focus on what he had within arm's reach.


End file.
